Bridal Games
by FuelDH206
Summary: Lanie forces Kate into a couples bridal shower...with games T rated but really probably a K


** All things Castle belong to AWM or ABC. I've asked. I've begged. I'm still waiting for an answer. I'm very patient Andrew.**

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This game is the bride's last chance to grope other guys without so much as a smidgen of guilt! The blindfolded bride takes turns feeling the calves of each male model, finally making an educated - if risky - guess as to which legs belong to her groom. This game works particularly well at couples showers, where there's typically a plethora of willing (if intoxicated) participants to choose from.

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Bridal Games

Prologue -

Lanie had approached Kate about throwing a couples bridal shower for her and Castle and she had immediately refused. The mere thought of being the focus of giggling girlfriends and sexual innuendoes coupled with cheesy group games literally made her shiver. However, begging off and promising her best friend a fun girl's night out bachelorette party did not deter the stubborn Medical Examiner. Ultimately, with grave reservations, Kate agreed to a laid back shower involving her closest friends, their spouses and/or significant others, Martha, Alexis and Jim. Something simple she'd been promised. Light hors d'oeuvres, a few cocktails and ONE game.

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Party Day -

She can't believe it's come to this. She, Katherine Beckett, tough, commanding homicide detective, fiancée of one Richard Castle, is about to grope the legs of her partners, colleagues, friends and ,God forbid, her father. Although, let's be honest here, she's silently praying her dad begs out of the game. However, knowing just how much Jim delights in torturing his only daughter, anything is possible.

The cocktails have been flowing for at least two hours, and the party guests are sufficiently loosened up when Lanie calls everyone to attention. She instructs the guys to roll up their pant legs, take off their socks and step into the mini spa bowls waiting along the wall. With resignation she watches as Ryan, Espo, Maddie's boyfriend Trevor, Alexis's boyfriend Max and Jim all get up and make their way to where Lanie wants them. Last to walk over, smirking at her as he goes is Castle, her smug fiancé.

She can feel the color climbing her cheeks as Lanie explains the rules of the game. Essentially she will be blindfolded, the guys mixed up and lined up and she will feel (read grope), their calves to decide which set of legs belong to her fiancé. Her face is a mask of total mortification.

She uses the last few seconds before being blindfolded to memorize the men standing on the far side of the room. The truth be told, she's confident in her abilities to know which are Castle's calves, however, there is a process of elimination she has to go through first.

Trying to categorize the group, Kate eyes the boys like suspects in a line-up. Ryan and Esposito are whispering quietly with Castle while her father remains slightly off to the left of the boys but very much engaged in the conspiracy. Inwardly she wonders what they're up to. To the right of the group stands Alexis's new boyfriend, Max. Kate feels sorry for the boy and can't help but hope Max won't pee himself when felt up by her guessing hands.

Knowing she promised Lanie one game, one game is what she'll do. However, Kate sees no harm in having a little fun at the expense of her boys. With a new-found resolve Kate graciously allows the blindfold to be positioned as she waits for the guys to rearrange themselves again.

Like an adult version of pin the tail on the donkey Kate is spun around, righted and steered toward what she believes is the large coffee table in the middle of the room. She indulges the cat calls and whistles; sashaying her hips a bit as she blindly allows Lanie to lead her towards a chair. She quickly tries to get her bearings again as Lanie provides further instruction.

"Listen up," Lanie begins. "You guys will step up on the coffee table and Kate will have 5 minutes to explore what's in front of her before needing to answer. She will have free rein to gather enough information to guess whether the legs belong to her groom."

Kate hears Castle snicker behind her, "Like shooting fish in a barrel for my lovely bride."

Oh, she loves that man and can't help but smile at the compliment. Love or not, she still plans on playing with him a bit if she can.

Channeling all of her detective skills, she confidently requests the first victim to step forward. Her hands reach out, coming into contact with rough hair. She takes her time moving her hands up along the lean, muscular calf, feeling out the rough and silky hairs. It doesn't take but a minute to know its owner is Ryan. Deciding to toy a bit with him and her audience, she keeps the answer to herself. She knows the longer she continues to fondle him, the more uncomfortable both he, and Jenny, will eventually become. She hums a little, softly stroking up and down making it seem she is thinking hard. The owner of the legs starts to shift a little but with a little jerk of her hand, the leg stills.

Loving Ryan like a brother, and really not wanting to put him or Jenny through much more she pushes herself back and huffs, "Get off the table Ryan, I'd know your skinny Irish legs anywhere."

Kate 1  
Men 0

Still feeling confident she requests the next set to step up. This pair is skinnier than Ryan's with less hair and much less definition. This is definitely a calf that belongs to a boy, and not a man. She quickly pulls back, calls out Max and lets the poor boy and Alexis out of their misery. She silently chuckles as she hears Max stumble a little as he hastily gets down. _Sweet kid and a good sport that one_, she thinks to herself.

Kate 2  
Men 0

The party guests start a round of complaints that this game is too easy and another one needs to be chosen. Shutting down any notion of beginning another game Kate interrupts the cries with a deadly rise of her eyebrow and states, "Quit your bitching. I promised one game and we will play this one till the end. I can't help it if Lanie chose one that fully utilizes the skills of my profession."

"We should be grateful she's not a barber or a seamstress," mutters Ryan.

"Or a hooker, " hisses Esposito.

"Watch it Espo," Kate warns, "Let's move on."

The group quietly stills.

With the two most awkward out-of-the-way Kate knows the fun is just about to begin and really there are no limits to her imagination for the remaining men in line. Her plan involves killing two birds with one stone or grope, as the case may be. Calculating her next move inwardly, Kate figures her payback will get both Lanie and Esposito worked up and may literally bring Castle to his knees.

Summoning her next victim, Kate waits until she can feel the new presence in front of her. Moving her hand forward she brushes against a thick calf with plenty of course hair. Momentarily perplexed she moves her hand up and down, occasionally catching a digit in a patch of hair. She knows this pair of legs does not belong to Castle as they are quite defined, very muscular and the kneecap doesn't move from being broken. She can hear feel the jealousy seething from Castle even though she can't see him. That alone tells her it's not Esposito, however, she is unsure whose legs she currently has in hand.

Relying on her detective skills and her keen sense of smell, she lets her hand drop and sits back for a second. Taking the short break allows her to pinpoint the scent permeating her nostrils. She knows this smell but is unable to place it. Breathing deeply she thinks back to a few weeks ago when they were at Castle's former prep school dancing and immediately knows what the smell is. It's Axel body spray, stifling, horrid and apparently whoever these legs belong to has bathed in it.

Kate quickly determines Martha has planted a decoy. Continuing to play along she reaches towards the calf again, tickling the back of the owners knee. The leg jerks, its owner huffs out a laugh while Kate calls out "imposter".

Martha laughs, congratulating her acting student on a job well done and a hardy "Nice work, kiddo," directed at Kate.

Kate 3  
Men 0

Before Kate can gloat, the next pair of legs presents themselves. Without having to move a finger she knows immediately that her next victim is Esposito. She can feel the tension wafting off of him and can also smell his fear. Curving her lips into a mischievous smile she reaches out and softly caresses the leg from the ankle to the knee. Humming softly she makes a big production of touching every inch of Espo's muscular calf and leg. "Mmm, now these legs I know", she breathlessly announces. "These legs have touched me, been wrapped around me and these are legs I could never forget."

She can't tell if the audible gasp comes from Lanie, Castle or Esposito himself, but she is truly enjoying herself. Remembering a secret Lanie shared with her about how ticklish Espo's feet are, Kate delicately runs a finger along the arc of his foot making him jump and then whimper…like a girl.

Suddenly they all start talking at once.

"Dude," barks Espo.

"Girlfriend, you better start laughing," warns Lanie.

"Whoa, now that's a back story I never wanted to know," stutters Castle.

Standing up Kate folds her arms across her chest and proudly announces "Nice legs Espo, last time I was this close to them we were sparring on a gym mat. Appears you've been working out with someone else."

She can feel the rush of air as it leaves the mouths of Lanie, Castle and Esposito and she can't help the satisfied smile that stretches across her face.

Kate 4  
Men 0

She hears her Dad offering coffee from the kitchen and feels relief to know he has excused himself from the game. Thank God for small miracles, she thinks to herself. She's even more relieved when she hears Alexis and Max letting Jim know they're headed back to the city for a late lecture and can drop him off on their way.

Still blindfolded, Kate attempts to pull down the material to say her goodbyes when she hears Alexis whisper in her ear "Don't even think about it Beckett, the game is still on. We'll drop your dad off, which will make you a little more comfortable, and I'll miss you fondling my father, thus making me more comfortable." With a quick embrace Alexis moves on.

Starling her from her behind with a sneak attack hug she hears her father say, "Thanks for the party Katie bug, play nice."

Hugging him back Kate replies, "Thanks dad, love you."

After Alexis, Max and Jim have left, Lanie demands the game continue. Barring another planted decoy, Kate determines that only Castle remains. She muses that if she can play her cards right, she can get this game and the party to end pretty quickly.

Kate sighs heavily, "Lanie, please tell me we are almost done with this ridiculous game. I'm getting thirsty and if I'm blindfolded much longer, Castle's going to think we're back at Lady Irene's."

"Honey, Lady Irene's place has nothing on your naughty box," Lanie retorts. Now step forward and play along." She demands.

Kate barely registers the embarrassed "Oh" as it escapes from Jenny's mouth.

Kate knows the instant Castle steps forward. Her entire body reacts to his presence, his scent, and she can't help shifting closer. Reaching out her hand to softly stroke his leg, she is met with nothing but soft, smooth skin. Shaking her head she quickly deduces Lanie must have warned Castle about the game and he has, in turn, decided to throw her off by shaving his legs. However, having been together for well over a year now, she knows his body like the back of her hand. Speaking of the back of her hand, she quickly moves it slowly up his calf, cupping his knee and then beginning an even slower climb towards his thigh. Encountering his pants cuff, Kate smoothly slips underneath the fabric and continues her exploration.

As she softly scrapes the silky hair she finds on her journey, his leg starts to shift and tremble. He desperately tries to shake her off but she's having none of that. Her hand keeps climbing and caressing, winding a slow, gentle path upwards.

She can hear a throat clear from somewhere in the room. She's pretty sure it's Ryan, but it might have been Lanie. Laughing to herself she shifts her fingers up, stretching them to the very inseam of Castle's thigh, raking them through his hair; barely hitting the silk hem of his boxers.

He gasps. She chuckles. The room explodes into motion.

Chairs scrape back. People stand up, bumping into themselves in their haste to not witness what is happening between the two.

Lanie excuses herself to the bathroom with Espo quickly following. Jenny calls out from the vicinity of the kitchen requesting Ryan to start bringing her dishes to wash. Kate laughs as Ryan moves quickly, mumbling something under his breath about helping his wife.

Over the hub of the chaos unfolding around her she hears Esposito hissing at Lanie in the powder room "I can't believe you told her about my sweet spot. I mean some things are sacred between a man and a woman."

"Oh honey, Lanie replies, believe me when I say I didn't share all your secrets. Now, let's get out of this bathroom and make a hasty retreat so we can explore more of your sacred spots."

Still clutching at the hem of Castle's boxers, Kate uses her other hand to bring down the blindfold so she can stare up at Castle and watch his expression. Dark, almost black eyes meet hazel as Kate untwines her fingers from Castle's pants and uses the material to hoist herself up to his level.

Nuzzling the side of his jaw, she whispers for his ears only "How fast can you clear the loft? I'm beginning to really like these Bridal games."

Swallowing loudly, Castle sucks her earlobe into his mouth and breathing heavily, responds with, "Give me 5 minutes."

Thanking everyone for coming, Kate begins a round of goodbyes. While it might be a bit of an awkward end to the party, she knows her friends will understand. She sends a smoldering look Castle's way as she overhears him promising Esposito the Ferrari for a month if he'll just help get everyone out, out, out the door.

With the last of the guests gone and Martha on her way to dinner with friends, they find themselves alone.

Her fiancé surges forward, wrapping his arms around her and placing a searing kiss to her lips.

"You know, a more jealous man might not have liked to witness your blatant display of detective skills." He states.

Chuckling to herself Kate answers him back with a hard kiss of her own, whispering in his ear, "And a more masculine man would not have shaved his legs just to one up his fiancée Castle."

"Touché, Detective, Touché", Castle laughs, bringing her closer into his embrace, gallantly lifting her up and carrying her bridal style towards the bedroom.

As Castle lays her down and slowly begins the process of undressing her, Kate sighs, "Let the games begin."

Castle 1  
Kate 1

Finished...for now

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**A/N - Big, Huge shout outs to:**

**wayouttamyleague - Girl, I can tell already that we're going to have some kind of fun!**

**KalindaWalker - Volunteered, struggled through the awkward beginnings of DocX with me and hung in till after midnight!**

**CKRose -Also volunteered and struggled though DocX with no luck - Next time Google Docs for sure.  
**

**A/N # 2 - Even with the help from the great ones above, all mistakes are mine and mine alone!  
**


End file.
